Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on European application 22382142.2 filed on February 18, 2022.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1 and 3 – 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mendizabal Abasolo Patxi et al. (WO 2020234398 A1), herein “Patxi,” in view of Stoettrup et al. (US PG Pub. No. 20140142779), herein “Stoettrup.”
Regarding claim 1,
Patxi teaches a method of power management of a power plant (Page 6, lines 26 - 29: “…the energy management system may provide a service of calculating or creating a respective energy management or power production schedule for any power plant in need of such a power production schedule.”) comprising at least one type of renewable power generation equipment and an energy storage system, (Page 3, lines 32 – 35: “power plant including energy generating units comprising a wind park and at least one unit of another type of renewable energy source and comprising an energy storage, wherein the control is improved…”)
wherein the power plant comprises at least one point of connection connecting the renewable power generation equipment and/or the energy storage system with an electrical grid, a user and/or a power conversion equipment, (Page 13, line 34 – Page 14, line 2: “According to an embodiment of the present invention, the scheduled (active) power and/or the grid operator reference relates to a power at a point of common coupling to which all energy generating units and the energy storage system output their power. The point of common connection may also be implemented as or comprise a busbar at which all the energy generating units and the energy storage units are connected.”)
the method comprising: determining a power generation schedule defining a generated power of the renewable power generation equipment during a predefined time range on a basis of forecasts parameters; (Page 4, lines 9 – 26: “…a method of operating a hybrid power plant, including energy generating units comprising a wind park and at least one unit of another type of a renewable energy source and comprising an energy storage system, the method comprising: creating, in particular by an (e.g. remote) energy management system, a power production schedule (relating to a future time span) based on an actual forecast of power production, an actual forecast of energy price and actual hybrid power plant status, the power production schedule comprising at least scheduled (e.g. active) power for points in time in the future; and controlling, during the points in time in the future, in particular by a (e.g. local) plant controller, the energy generating units and the energy storage system based on the power production schedule, the hybrid power plant status at the points in time in the future, in particular energy storage system status, such as to dispatch power according to the power production schedule, but complying with any grid operator reference at the points in time in the future.” Examiner’s Note – Patxi teaches 85 instances of “power production schedule.”)
obtaining, from the user, the power conversion equipment, and/or a controller of the grid a power supply schedule defining a power to be supplied to the user, the power conversion equipment, and/or the electrical grid during the predefined time range; (Page 6, lines 4 - 21: “The power production schedule may relate to active and/or re active power to be output by the hybrid power plant in the points in time in the future. For example, the power production schedule may comprise values of the active power to be output by the power plant at for example 1 to 10 or 1 to 100 different time points in the future. The power production schedule may further optionally also comprise for example re active power values to be output by the energy plant in several points in time in the future. When the power production is scheduled using the power production schedule, the power output may be more predictable than conventionally known. For example, the power production schedule or a portion thereof may be also communicated to a grid operator which may then receive for example several power production schedules from several different power plants. Thereby, the grid operator may also consider these different power production schedules for in turn calculating particular grid operator plant references to be sent to the different power plants.” See also Page 6, lines 26 – 32 and Page 21, lines 2 – 16.)
determining an optimized power injection schedule of the power plant defining a power supply of the power plant during the predefined time range on a basis of the power generation schedule and of the power supply schedule;
wherein in the predefined time range the method comprises: (Page, line : “The target of the energy management system may be to improve the profitability of the generated energy. Thereby, the energy management system 313 may create an optimum production schedule 361 of power references Ptarget, at different time points t, t+1, t+2, t+3, t+4, t+5 in the future. The power schedule 361 is sent for example via communication signals 359 to the hybrid plant 300, in particular, to local controller 115, 215 and/or to the respective energy generating units and the energy storage units. The power schedule 361 may also be shared with other plants or other interesting parties 363. For generating the power schedule 361, the energy management system 313 receives production forecast data 365, state data 367 of the respective energy storage system and further receives market price forecasts 369. The power production schedule 361 is updated periodically based on the forecast and market prices 365, 369 and also based on the plant state (e.g. at least of the batteries) 367. The local grid control application may be executed by for example the local plant controller 115 illustrated in Fig. 1 or the combination of the hybrid plant controller 215 and the substation control unit 251 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The grid control applications may pursue the compliance of the grid code requirements, as well as also improvising the integration of renewable plants into the utility grid and may help to maintain overall grid stability.”)
supplying the power of the power plant to the user, the power generation equipment, and/or the electrical grid on a basis of the power supply schedule; (Page 11, lines 20 - 26: “…adhering to the schedule active power or the grid operator reference, by appropriately charging/discharging the energy storage system; power limit adherence, wherein the energy storage system is charged in order to keep the plant output power below a given power limit or wherein the energy generating units are controlled to limit their power generation.” Page 8, lines 4 - 11: “The actual hybrid power plant status may in particular comprise charging status of the energy storage system. The actual hybrid power plant status may also comprise additionally or alternatively, the actual active and/or reactive power output of the hybrid pow er plant. By considering all these inputs, a power production schedule and/or storage power schedule (regarding active and/or reactive power) may be created which may closely resemble the active and/or reactive power actually dispatchable at the points in time in the future.”)
Patxi does not teach a surplus power output and
and supplying a surplus power of the power plant defined as a difference between the power injection schedule and the power supply schedule, considering also real time condition variations, to the user and the power conversion equipment on a basis of at least one optimization parameter. (Par. 0032: “With this approach and using the types of variable and constraint mentioned above, the method according to the invention can determine an optimum operation plan scheduling a combination of ancillary services that can be offered, the amount of power to be generated and can determine how much of this generated power should be fed into the grid and how much of it should be converted into another form for immediate consumption or storage for later use during an operation plan scheduling period. The method can also determine an optimum amount of stored power that should be retrieved from a reversible storage and fed into the electricity grid, or an optimum amount of stored power that should be retrieved from a non-reversible storage and fed into a consumer grid.” Par. 0046: “FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a power network controller 2 or "governor" 2 according to an embodiment of the invention. In this realisation, a control block 20 receives a grid requirement or reference Pdemand that indicates a required grid power that must be delivered, i.e. the entire power network must operate to satisfy this reference Pdemand. The grid reference Pdemand can be the same as the input power reference Psched indicated in FIG. 1, or can be derived from that by a suitable reference selector unit (not shown). The control block 20 compares this with information about the momentary power production given in the data D_x delivered by power generation facilities of the power network, and identifies a difference--surplus or deficit--and provides an appropriate signal to an optimizing module 21. The optimizing module 21 receives various input parameters M_1, . . . , M_n, as well as production data D_x from all power generation and storage facilities. On the basis of this information, the optimizing module 21 can determine the amount of power that should be generated and sold into the grid, the amount of power that should be stored for later use, and the amount of power that should be retrieved from a reversible power storage facility. Many parameters such as power price, weather forecast, power price forecast, service cost etc. as described above, are taken into consideration to determine an optimal plan for this power network from the point of view of short-term and long-term profitability as well as energy efficiency. The optimizing module 21 issues appropriate signals Pstore, Pproduce to a reference distribution unit 22. The optimizing module 21 can generate one collective power storage signal Pstore, or individual power storage signals for each of the storage facilities. Similarly, the optimizing module 21 can generate one collective power production signal Pproduce, or individual power production signals for each of the power production facilities.”)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the method of managing a power plant that contains renewable energy sources and supplies power to a grid as in Patxi with managing and monitoring power generation facilities wherein a surplus power amount considering real time or momentary power production and determine the amount of power to be consumed or stored based on optimization module as in Stoettrup in order to optimize the power production and power storage that creates a combined control system. (Par. 0032, last sentence.)
Regarding claim 3,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 3 depends. Patxi also teaches that the power plant comprises one point of connection connecting the renewable power generation equipment and the energy storage system with the electrical grid, the user, and/or the power conversion equipment. (Page 17, line 33 – Page 18, line 10: “Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a hybrid power plant 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention in a more detailed manner. As is illustrated in Fig. 2, between the busbar 225 and the (primary) side of the plant transformer 223, a (medium voltage) breaker 235 (MVCB) is provided. Furthermore, between a secondary side of the plant transform er 223 and the utility grid 227, a high voltage circuit breaker 237 (HVCB) is connected. Furthermore, for the wind park 204, a sun protection circuit breaker 239 (SP-CB) is connected between an output terminal 241 of the wind park 204 5 and the common busbar 225. Between an output terminal 243 of the wind farm 201 and the common busbar 225, a wind farm connection breaker 245 (WF-CB) is connected. Between an output terminal 247 of the energy storage system 207 and the common busbar 225, a battery circuit breaker 249 (BAT-CB) is connected.” See figure 2 showing the common connection as a busbar 225.)
Regarding claim 4,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 4 depends. Patxi also teaches that the at least one type of renewable power generation equipment comprises a wind turbine and/or a solar panel. (Page 15, lines 17 – 19: “The power plant may be in different configurations. E.g., due to the particular configuration of the power plant, there may or may not be dedicated breakers for the Wind Farm and the Solar plant.”)
Regarding claim 5,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 5 depends. Patxi also teaches that the forecasts parameters comprise weather forecast parameters including wind speed, wind direction and/or sun irradiation in a region of the power plant. (Page 7, line 37 – Page 8, line 2: “The forecasts (of power production and/or energy price) may be received from an external source or internally generated by a forecast method, such as weather forecast prediction source and energy price prediction source.”)
Regarding claim 6,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 6 depends. Patxi also teaches that the forecasts parameters comprise financial parameters and/or a committed power injection schedule. (Page 7, line 37 – Page 8, line 2: “The forecasts (of power production and/or energy price) may be received from an external source or internally generated by a forecast method, such as weather forecast prediction source and energy price prediction source.”)
Regarding claim 7,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 7 depends. Patxi also teaches that the present availability of the renewable power generation equipment and/or a present value of a state of charge of the energy storage system. (Page 21, lines 2 – 5: “For generating the power schedule 361, the energy management system 313 receives production forecast data 365, state data 367 of the respective energy storage system and further receives market price forecasts 369.” See also Page 9, lines 1 – 12.)
Regarding claim 8,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 8 depends. Patxi also teaches that the power supply schedule has a minimum power supply, defining the minimum power that must be supplied during the predefined time range, and a maximum power supply, defining a maximum power that can be supplied during the predefined time range. (Page 11, lines 15 - 26: “…base load assurance, wherein capacity of the storage system is selected based on minimum power to be output by the plant and duration of the minimum power to be assured; power curtailment of at least one particular energy generating unit by charging the energy storage system or limiting its power generation; adhering to the schedule active power or the grid operator reference, by appropriately charging/discharging the energy storage system; power limit adherence, wherein the energy storage system is charged in order to keep the plant output power below a given power limit or wherein the energy generating units are controlled to limit their power generation.” Page 12, lines 17 - 23: “Base load assurance may ensure that the hybrid power plant is capable to output in any situation the minimum power, in particular for a predefined duration time. Thereby, also predictability may be improved. When for example no particular utility grid support is required, the power plant may adhere to the scheduled active power or the grid operator (active power) reference.”)
Regarding claim 9,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 9 depends. Patxi also teaches that the method further comprises: determining a state of charge target schedule of the energy storage system during the predefined time range on the basis of the forecasts parameters, wherein the power injection schedule is determined also on a basis of the state of charge target schedule. (Page 7, line 37 – Page 8, line 11: “The forecasts (of power production and/or energy price) may be received from an external source or internally generated by a forecast method, such as weather forecast prediction source and energy price prediction source. The actual hybrid power plant status may in particular comprise charging status of the energy storage system. The actual hybrid power plant status may also comprise additionally or alternatively, the actual active and/or reactive power output of the hybrid pow er plant. By considering all these inputs, a power production schedule and/or storage power schedule (regarding active and/or reactive power) may be created which may closely resemble the active and/or reactive power actually dispatchable at the points in time in the future.”)
Regarding claim 10,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 10 depends. Patxi also teaches that during the predefined time range, the method further comprises: updating the power generation schedule and the power injection schedule on a basis of updated forecasts parameters collected during the predefined time range. (Page 21, lines 5 – 12: “The power production schedule 361 is updated periodically based on the forecast and market prices 365, 369 and also based on the plant state (e.g. at least of the batteries) 367. The local grid control application may be executed by for example the local plant 10 controller 115 illustrated in Fig. 1 or the combination of the hybrid plant controller 215 and the substation control unit 251 as illustrated in Fig. 2.”)
Regarding claim 11,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 11 depends. Patxi also teaches that during the predefined time range, the method further comprises: updating the power supply schedule on a basis of at least one signal received by the controller of the grid, the power conversion equipment, and/or the user. (Page 21, lines 5 – 16: “The power production schedule 361 is updated periodically based on the forecast and market prices 365, 369 and also based on the plant state (e.g. at least of the batteries) 367. The local grid control application may be executed by for example the local plant controller 115 illustrated in Fig. 1 or the combination of the hybrid plant controller 215 and the substation control unit 251 as illustrated in Fig. 2. The grid control applications may pursue the compliance of the grid code requirements, as well as also improvising the integration of renewable plants into the utility grid and may help to maintain overall grid stability.”)
Regarding claim 12,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 12 depends. Patxi also teaches that the updating is performed at regular or irregular time intervals. (Page 9, lines 22 – 24: “According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power production schedule is updated at regular or irregular points in time…”)
12. Regarding claim 14, it is directed to apparatuses (claimed as an arrangement) to implement the method of steps set forth in claim 1. Patxi and Stoettrup teach the claimed method of steps in claim 1. Therefore, Patxi and Stoettrup teach the apparatuses to implement the claimed method of steps in claim 14.
Regarding claim 15, it is dependent on claim 14 and is directed to a power plant and claim 15 contains those elements of claim 14 and a power plant. Patxi and Stoettrup teach the claimed method of steps in claim 14. And both Patxi and Stoettrup teach a power plant(s). Therefore, Patxi and Stoettrup teach the elements of claim 15.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patxi in view of Stoettrup in further view of Logvinov et al. (US PG Pub. No. 20200023747), herein “Logvinov.”
Regarding claim 13,
The previously cited reference(s) teach the limitations of claim 1 which claim 13 depends. They do not teach regulating or activating/deactivating (controlling) the renewable power sources. However, Logvinov teaches that the predefined time range, the method further comprises: regulating, activating and/or deactivating at least a part of the renewable power generating equipment. (Par. 0119: “In block 610, the controller 240 alone or in combination with one or more controllers of components of the system 200 may control charging an EV 255 from the microgrid 202 based on charging instruction signals transmitted. For example, based on the charging instruction signals, the smart meter 214 may be controlled to disconnect the microgrid 202 from the Grid, and then the Renewable 222 may be controlled to supply power to the microgrid 202 at a same time the storage system 220 is controlled to store energy using the power on the microgrid 202. In addition, after a predetermined amount of energy is stored at the system 220, the Renewable 222 may be controlled to no longer supply power to the microgrid 202, and the charging apparatus 230 may be controlled to charge the EV 255 from the microgrid 202 while the storage system 220 is controlled to supply power to the microgrid 202 based on the stored energy therein.” Par. 0133: “the controller 240 may determine power charging schedules for storing energy generated at, for example, the DER 218 or the Renewable 222, at a time prior to the future time period; power charging schedules for supplying power to the selected appliances at the houses 216 from the microgrid 202 before and during the future time period; and a power charging schedule for charging from the microgrid 202 a battery of one or more EVs 255 during the future time period.” See also Logvinov claim 19.)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the method of managing a power plant that contains renewable energy sources and supplies power to a grid as in Patxi with managing and monitoring power generation facilities wherein a surplus power amount considering real time or momentary power production and determine the amount of power to be consumed or stored based on optimization module as in Stoettrup with controlling the renewable power source such as a disconnection or power charging at a certain time period or a future time period as in Logvinov in order to optimize choices such as cost, pollution, quality within social and physical limitations of a microgrid, and which includes using alternative power resources, such as DERs, Renewables or energy storage system, on the microgrid in a most efficient manner. (Logvinov Par. 0126)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims pending resolving all intervening issues such as other rejections above. Reasons for allowance will be held in abeyance pending final recitation of the claims. The prior art does not disclose the elements of claim 1 and wherein the power plant comprises a first point of connection connecting the renewable power generation equipment with the electrical grid, the user, and/or the power conversion equipment and a second point of connection connecting the energy storage system with at least another electrical grid, user and/or power conversion equipment.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Ramesh et al. (US Patent No. 11,171,485) may also teach the elements of claim 15. See Col. 15, lines 9 – 43.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAD G ERDMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0177. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 7am - 3pm or 4pm EST..
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/CHAD G ERDMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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